Costs and courses covered and excluded

The detailed rules relating to the definition of which costs are included or excluded as part of the AMFM policy are:

Qualifications excluded

As outlined in Condition SAC092[4], postgraduate masters’ degrees and courses not approved for SAC funding are not covered by the policy.

The TEC uses the following definition of a professional masters/doctorate:

• Prepares the candidate to work at a sophisticated level in a professional field, (rather than for doctoral study in the case of a professional masters)
• Is focussed on the application of studies to a particular profession or professional context
• Is often taken part time by people working in the profession/industry
• Typically involves substantial case-study work (and a research project) related to the profession/ industry on which the degree is focused.

Learners not covered

AMFM policy does not cover foreign students’ fee/course costs (including foreign students enrolled in wholly research-based courses). It does, however, apply to international PhD students who are enrolled as domestic students.

• [1]

  Condition SAC089: AMFM policy compulsory costs

  The AMFM policy applies to compulsory costs. A cost is classed as compulsory when all of the following apply:

  • The tertiary education organisation is the sole source of the item to which the cost relates
  • All learners are required to pay the charge
  • The charge is not exempt under the fees policy.
• [2]

  Condition SAC090: AMFM policy - types of costs included

  For AMFM policy purposes, fee/course costs include the following:

  • Tuition fees
  • Compulsory administration charges
  • Examination fees
  • Material charges
  • Field trips, including any accommodation cost integral to the trip
  • Any compulsory purchase of equipment or books, specific to the course, through the TEO
  • Other charges associated with a course or programme of study.
• [3]

  Condition SAC091: AMFM policy - types of costs not included

  The following items are not subject to the Annual Maximum Fee Movement policy:

  • The cost of returning exam scripts or exam recounts
  • International handling charges for domestic students living overseas and studying extramurally
  • Compulsory books or equipment that learners can purchase from either the tertiary education organisation or another source
  • Student association fees
  • Learner service levies[1] approved by a tertiary education organisation’s governing body
  • Accommodation charges other than those incurred as an integral part of a field trip
  • Non-compulsory purchases using the course-related costs component of the Student Loan Scheme
  • Bonds payments. The value of any bond, and consequently bond returns, are not included within the scope of fees policy.

   

  Note: To ensure the integrity of the policy, the Tertiary Education Commission reserves the right to question a bond arrangement if it suspects that it is a compulsory charge to learners.

  • [1]

    Note: Learner services levies relate to levies for services provided to learners, such as career, accommodation, health, and counselling services.

• [4]

  Condition SAC092: AMFM policy - types of qualifications and courses not included

  The Annual Maximum Fee Movement policy does not apply to:

  • professional masters’ and professional doctoral degrees
  • courses that are not approved for Student Achievement Component funding (other than those funded under section 321 of the Education Act 1989).